Beecher is a village in
Will County, Illinois
Will County is a county in the northeastern part of the state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 696,355, an increase of 2.8% from 677,560 in 2010, making it Illinois's fourth-most populous county. The county sea ...
, United States. It is located on the old
Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Illinois, Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis, and Evansville, Indiana, Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and staye ...
and the
Dixie Highway
Dixie Highway was a United States auto trail first planned in 1914 to connect the Midwest with the South. It was part of a system and was expanded from an earlier Miami to Montreal highway. The final system is better understood as a network o ...
. Situated in the center of
Washington Township, it was originally named Washington Center. Named for
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...
, Beecher was founded in 1870 and incorporated as a village in 1884. Originally governed by a village president and board of trustees, a village administrator was hired to handle daily tasks in 1988. The city clerk is an appointed position.
The population was 4,713 at the 2020 census.
History
Early Days of Beecher
T.L. Miller arrived in Washington Township in 1862 and began purchasing land. His plan was to begin breeding and raising Hereford cattle. He knew the area offered good grazing lands; and he was convinced that the
Hereford breed of beef cattle showed great promise for the future. At the time, T.L. Miller lived in Chicago and was in the fire and insurance business. Mr. Miller was a great admirer of Henry Ward Beecher, the most famous orator of that time, and named the new village after him.
Mr. Miller purchased his first 320 acres of land from the government. Later he added another 400 acres. He began making improvements immediately on his property, which he called Highland Stock Farm. His son. T.E. (Timothy Elliott) Miller recalled: “On his beautiful farm, he established the finest and largest herd of Hereford cattle in America. To him is due the credit of the wide dissemination of this great breed of beef cattle in the United States. A man of great energy, his name was widely known in England and America in connection with the Hereford breed of cattle.”
To further promote Hereford cattle, he established the “Breeder’s Journal” in 1880 and published it for eight years. In addition, he gathered and assembled the pedigree of Hereford cattle in the first two volumes of the “Hereford Herd Book”. Both were published in Beecher.
The Railroad
Sometime after his initial purchase of land, T. L. Miller learned that the Chicago, Danville and Vincennes Railroad was coming through the area. He was able to acquire an additional 340 acres west of his original property and adjoining the proposed railroad on both sides. He secured the promise of a railroad station within his property. Early in 1869, work began on the new railroad. It would run from Chicago, through Danville and eventually cross the Wabash River to Vincennes, crossing through the easternmost tier of Illinois counties. Sometime before October 1869, the track was laid through the future Village of Beecher. By January 1870, there was complete rail service to Chicago.
The railroad assured Beecher's future. Chicago was just 37 miles to the north by rail, and from there, connections could be made to any part of the country. Then in 1870, Mr. Miller asked George Dolton to lay out the future village, with a business section on both sides of the railroad, and beyond that, twelve blocks on each side for future development of homes and other businesses.
Beecher Depot
With efficient rail service running through the new village, further development began to build up near the railroad. By the end of the century, there was a thriving business section in the heart of the village. The depot became the center of activity. It was located on Reed Street, between Hodges and Penfield and was built in 1881 by the Chicago, Danville & Vincennes (CD&V) RR. The Chicago & Eastern Illinois (C&EI) RR took it over and operated it until the 1960s when it closed. The depot was sold and moved to Monee, Illinois to Thompson's Winery where it was used as a gift shop until the 1980s. It was returned to its original site in Beecher in 2000, and renovated to its present state. It is a standard wooden depot and one of the last of its kind left on the former C&EI route. It is the home of the local historical society and is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. until noon.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, Beecher has a total area of , all land.
The majority of the village is in Section 16 of Washington Township.
A branch of Trim Creek flows through Beecher, but this carries very little water most of the year.
Beecher is located in the center of a primarily agricultural township. Beecher Consolidated School District provides educational services for Washington Township and of the neighboring, entirely rural,
Will Township.
The nearest towns are
Crete, Illinois
Crete is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. It is a far south suburb of Chicago, 30 miles from the Loop and only 6 miles from the Indiana border. The population was 8,465 at the 2020 census. Originally named Wood's Corner, it ...
, north;
Grant Park, south;
Peotone, west and
Cedar Lake, Indiana
Cedar Lake is a town in Hanover Township, Lake County, Indiana, Hanover and Center Township, Lake County, Indiana, Center townships, Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is near the Illinois state line. Its population was 14,106 at the 2020 ce ...
, east.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 2,033 people, 830 households, and 590 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 876 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.03%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.15%
Native American, 0.44%
Asian, 0.34% from
other races, and 1.03% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 1.77% of the population and 0.00% African American.
There were 830 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $51,250, and the median income for a family was $60,625. Males had a median income of $43,563 versus $26,786 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the village was $23,454. About 3.0% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 4.2% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.
Parks
Being a small community, Beecher does not have an official
park district. Instead, the village's Public Works Department manages Beecher's park lands.
Beecher residents have ten parks within the village's borders to utilize. Via these parks, Beecher offers its citizens access to jogging paths, soccer fields, picnic areas, playgrounds, and baseball fields. Ten-acre Welton Stedt Park is the largest park in the village. Located adjacent to Beecher Junior High School, Welton Stedt Park boasts four ballfields, a pond, and portable toilets. Firemen's Park, situated in the heart of Beecher, has picnic pavilions, a snack shack, a stage, bathroom facilities, ballfields, walking paths, and a seasonal ice rink. Beecher's annual Fourth of July Festival has been held in Firemen's Park for decades.
"Ribbon of Hope” Cancer Awareness Garden
The Ribbon of Hope Commission was established by the Beecher Village Board in 2013 with the goal of creating a small
garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
that would promote
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
awareness. A small plot of land in Fireman's Park was selected as the site of the garden, and on May 20, 2018, the garden's centerpiece, a metallic sculpture in the form of a
ribbon
A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mate ...
, was dedicated.
Education
Public schools
*
Beecher High School
*
Beecher Junior High School
*
Beecher Elementary School
Private schools
* Zion Lutheran Grade School (closed) - 540 Oak Park Ave, Beecher
Notable people
*
Rube Ehrhardt, pitcher for the
Brooklyn Robins
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brookl ...
,
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
*
Milt Pappas
Milton Steven Pappas (May 11, 1939 – April 19, 2016) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . Nicknamed "Gimpy", the 17-year veteran pitched for the Baltimore Ori ...
, pitcher for Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles
References
External links
Beecher official website
{{authority control
Villages in Will County, Illinois
Populated places established in 1870
1870 establishments in Illinois
Villages in Illinois